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DRAMA & DANCE
We sympathised with the complexities of the adolescent experience laid bare for the audience
Stephens’ fin-de-siècle play has been described as The History Boys meets Columbine, and the performed duologues reveal many gradually escalating conflicts, laying bare the complexities of being a teenager in the modern world. Once again, our GCSE cohort chose to explore this blistering noughties drama about an explosive attack at an elite British grammar school. The characters were on-centre for our 16-year-olds – they played Sixth Form students preparing for their mock A-level exams, each suffering under the enormous stress that is imposed on them from outside and that they impose on themselves and each other. They are privileged, bright, articulate and terrified. The library becomes a smouldering arena for their violently emotional impulses, and the play builds an inexorably growing tension, heralding the catastrophic climactic events of the penultimate scene. We were presented with snapshots of scenes and exchanges, and it was terrific to see the different interpretations each student brought to their character. By analysing this select group at an elite school, Stephens is exposing the rot that lies at the heart of the class system, showing how a sense of innate superiority in any group can lead to a sense of being immune to the ordinary rules of law, behaviour and morals.
Our GCSE cohort presented us with nuanced, believable renderings of the tribalistic games played among the volatile group of high-achieving pupils, of the impact of gossiping, and of manipulation and exploitation of information told in confidence. We were unsettled by the voyeuristic insight we were given into the intimate conversations between friends and rivals, these exchanges portraying the complex interplay of hormones, desires and frustrations which undoubtedly caused the audience to reflect on the multifaceted and intricate nature of their own children’s lives and relationships. With strong use of tension and the colliding of different tempo rhythms, the performances felt fresh and truthful. We sympathised with the complexities of the adolescent experience laid bare for the audience, and the exchanges were both provocative and unsettling. Stephens intentionally assaults the audience with the unfolding events in the narrative, and there was clearly an aim from the cohort to echo his intentions to ‘incrementally attack [the audience] from within’. The atmosphere in the Edward Alleyn Theatre was electric; the Year 11 GCSE actors made brilliant choices with character motivation and backstory to inhabit their roles fully, and to create vibrant and brilliant portraits of these difficult characters, to engaging and provocative effect.
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